Design approval for an LED message board, scoreboard, ticket booths, entrances, a team store and other signs were another step forward for the $64-million baseball park project scheduled for completion by April 2013.

Cheryl Morgan, an architecture professor at the Auburn Urban Studio
in Birmingham and a Design Review Committee member, said she was pleased
with the signs presented to the committee. She said a subcommittee met
with some of those working on the project a little over a month ago to
provide feedback on what the committee would like to see. The need for
that meeting was in part because of the civic nature of the project and
also because of its complexity.

"I think they've done a real good job of thinking holistically about
the signs so that they're both functional and respectful of the
architectural aesthetic that they're developing," Morgan said. "They're looking
carefully at how and where they need signage functionally, but at the
same time they're looking at things that will complement the character
of the building."

She said the signs, especially when compared to the scale of the building, are fairly discreet and low key.

"Signs aren't the point here, which is nice," she said. "There are
some big, fun, kind of super-graphics, but the signage is supplementing
the function of the building -- not overwhelming the building -- which I
think is a good direction for them to have chosen."

The main signage -- an eight-foot-tall by 80-foot-wide green set of letters spelling "Regions Field" -- bears the name of the stadium's sponsor. The signage would be side-lit and face westward by Second Avenue South and 14th Street, according to David Brandt, project manager with Birmingham-based Fravert Services, the firm creating the signs.

Andy Henning, vice president at HKS Architecture -- a Dallas-based firm on the ballpark's design team -- said some of the light from the stadium could spill over onto neighboring Railroad Park, which some of the committee members said could create an particular atmosphere for the park even at night.

Although the committee unanimously approved the signage master plan, there were a few slight setbacks at the meeting. Henning thought the ballpark should be allowed to have phone numbers scrolling on the LED message board, but committee members said they have policy against that and said only words could be used. Also, the ballpark developers will also need to return to the committee in the future with more detailed plans for banners and also signage for an ice cream shop.